ARE YOU EXPERIENCING

FYA ACCIDENTS?

Find Out The Truth

FYA ACCIDENT INCREASE?
ACCIDENT INCREASE IS NOT REAL DRIVERS MISUNDERSTOOD SIGNALS SIGNALS WERE CONFIGURED WRONG
Bad statistics
Unrelated accident causes
Faulty or biased news coverage
Rumors of nonexistent crashes
Belief all arrows are protected (only green)
People spreading misinformation
FYA information sign not used
Former signal had protected FYA
Doesn't meet left turn guidelines
FYA faces not installed in pairs
FYA not lit at correct times (bad install)
Intersection not FYA compatible

Ask these questions

FYA signal If you have an unusual number of accidents with flashing yellow arrows left turn signals, ask these questions:

  1. Is the increase in accidents real?

    Check for bad statistics and unrelated causes

  2. Is a reporter writing scare stories about FYA?

    Too many times a reporter does one or more of the following:

  3. Is a belief circulating that all arrows indicate protected movements?

    These beliefs are usually caused by one or more of the following:

  4. Did a signal in the area in the past ever use FYA to indicate a protected left turn during night flash mode?

    If so, an extra effort to educate drivers must be used in that area.

  5. good FYA sign

    Correct


    Wrong

    bad FYA sign

     

    wrong FYA sign
    Is the FYA instruction sign being used correctly?

    The sign should say the following:

    LEFT TURN YIELD ON FLASHING YELLOW ARROW:

    There should be no image on the sign.

  6. Does the left turn meet the guidelines for a permissive turn?

    Evaluate each street separately.

    If any of the following are present, FYA should not be used. Turns on circular green must not be used. The left turns must be exclusively protected:

  7. Is the FYA installed correctly?

    Correct installation includes all of the following:

    Correct installation must be done by a trained engineer. The work must not be done by a politician, the police, or a local electrician.

  8. Were the FYA signals installed in both directions on the same road?

    This must be done wherever exclusive left turn lanes exist in both directions on that road at the intersection.

    Only in these cases can a FYA face exist in one direction, but not the other:

    Even if the green arrow is not wanted on a leg, the rest of the flashing yellow arrow face must be operating, or yellow trap happens.

    If FYA can't be used in one direction on one road, it might be better to not use FYA at all on that road at that intersection.

  9. FYA  no greensignal What if the green arrow is not wanted or needed on one leg?

    If the left turn lane exists and FYA is used in the opposite direction on that road, the rest of the flashing yellow arrow face must be operating or yellow trap happens.

    If that leg has no exclusive left turn lane, then no FYA signal face may be used, and alternate yellow-trap prevention must be used.

    If a leg has no exclusive left turn lane, but a green arrow is wanted, then no FYA signal face may be used (a different signal face must be used) and alternate yellow-trap prevention must be used.

  10. Does each flashing yellow arrow always display at all times the oncoming traffic circular green displays?

    If this does not happen, something is wrong with the installation:

  11. Is there a single-lane approach on the street?

    A flashing yellow arrow signal face cannot be used with a single lane approach. An alternate phasing must be used and yellow trap must be prevented through other means.

  12. Does the street have a left turn that shares a lane with other movements?

    A flashing yellow arrow signal face cannot be used with a shared use lane. An alternate phasing must be used and yellow trap must be prevented through other means.

  13. Is the signal erroneously causing yellow trap?

    The signal must be checked through observation. These observations must be made at low traffic periods as well as high traffic periods. Yellow trap often happens when the signal is unloaded and is skipping phases.

    The controller must be checked for the following:

  14. How do I check the signal for yellow trap?

    Look for any case where a circular green is displayed in one direction while the oncoming traffic has only steady red and/or steady yellow indications.

    FYA signals

    Correctly Installed - Safe - No Yellow Trap

    yellow trap fya

    Yellow Trap from Wrongly Installed FYA

    yellow trap signals

    Yellow Trap from Left Turns on Circular Green

    Notice that the lower two diagrams turn all of the signals on the leading side yellow and then red simultaneously. This is the yellow trap. A left turning driver on the leading side is trapped. The correct installation (top) keeps the yellow arrow flashing until the oncoming circular green turns yellow.

    The middle image is a simulation of what happens when the FYA is wrongly linked to the adjacent circular green instead of the oncoming circular green. It brings the wrong timing of left turns on circular green to the FYA, causing yellow trap.

    Notice the middle diagram has the same indications the bottom diagram has. Both cause yellow trap.

    If the circular signals are not simultaneously showing identical indications in all three diagrams, refresh the page or open it in a new tab.